Goodbyes and Hellos

Goodbye, tour.
Hello, Greece.
Goodbye (and good riddance), Greece.
Goodbye, Bodrum.
Hello (again), Istanbul.

Say what you will about Bodrum - it's anything but dull!

We celebrated the last night of our tour with a lovely, if windy, dinner on a terrace overlooking the yacht harbor at Bodrum.

Our main course (after the usual delicious starters, which ought to be the entire meal!) was a stew-like casserole that had been slow-cooked in individual clay pots.

The food, the view, and the conversation were delightful.

Yet another reason no one lost weight on this trip.

We watched the sun set over the countless masts in the harbor.

And then the music began.

After our last breakfast together - and the end of the official tour - several of us took the one-hour ferry ride to the Greek island of Kos.

Jane and Steve (left) and Laurie and Kinne (below - Kinne's hat blowing in the breeze) were planning to stay in Greece, rather than returning in the afternoon like we were.  Terry and Rita, and Nat and Clare were also on board, but on another deck.

Wanting to get an introduction to Kos (and lacking any vestiges of pride), we shelled out 5 euros apiece to take the sightseeing "train." The short ride was even shorter on information.

But the cool factor was worth it!

One of the first things we noticed about Kos was that the ancient ruins were just that - ruins.  Basically, they were piles of stones in weedy patches, mostly lacking any informational signage.

A very old plane tree under which Hippocrates (who was from Kos) was reputed to have taught, did at least have a few signs pointing to it, although no other information was available.

Lynden conversed with a sponge vendor who seemed to know more about selling sponges than he did about the critters themselves.

We decided that the Greeks of Kos felt that graffiti was an adequate substitute for signage.

Even this sarcophagus had been defaced.

Blank wall?  Blank canvas!

The small museum of sculptures was highly recommended, but, again, information putting the various pieces into context was sorely lacking.  The plaque next to this one read, "Oversized statue of male figure.  Possibly Hippocrates."  Good grief - art historian that I am (not), I could have written that!!!  We asked if they had a book available about the collection - alas, no.

The building itself, though, with its centerpiece mosaic, was very nice .

Maybe it's just that people don't go to Kos to soak up the culture - they go there to soak up the sun and the ouzo.

We left Kos after about six hours - none too soon - and were glad to get back to Turkey.  Even touristy Bodrum looked welcoming after Kos.  We decided to enjoy our last evening in Bodrum having dinner on terrace at our hotel.  The view was amazing and the food was even better - well worth the modest splurge.

This morning we got up bright and early, finished packing, and realized that we actually had time to spare before taking a taxi to the Bodrum airport (which is about a 30-minute drive out of town - probably to the nearest piece of flat real estate large enough to land a plane on).  Lynden settled into one of the cozy cabanas beside the pool to read her book about ancient Halicarnassus (Bodrum).

And back to Istanbul and the wonderful Spice Market, where Lynden's talking to a shop keeper we'd visited before.  When we visited the first time, we didn't know anything about the scented oils, so during the tour we asked Mert about them and what to look for in terms of quality.  He said that the oils sold at the Spice Market are high quality, so we made a point of going back to the same shop.



The proprietor, who was once in the merchant marine and had sailed up the Columbia River to Portland, siphoned a small amount of the scented oil to seal in a tiny bottle.

I chose "Melisa," which has a delicate lemony scent.

After visiting the Spice Market and wandering the streets a bit, we took the tram back to Sultanahmet, had an overpriced dinner at an outdoor restaurant near the tram stop, and then called it a night.